One Last Glance Back

I was chatting today to someone about our December trip to Makkah for the umrah and reminded myself of the fascination of bumping into and brushing against so many folks from so many different parts of the world in one place - hence the often literal bumping and brushing. You could occupy yourself there people-watching right around the clock, finding something to surprise and intrigue with the passing of every hour.

One particular example captures the magic of it all for me. I was sitting in the masjid, waiting for the next prayer which was some way off, when a group a few yards in front of me caught my attention. I think they were from India, judging from their complexions, and were generally fairly young, the eldest looking in his early forties to me. There were about nine of them, and they looked like family - cousins, uncles, brothers, that sort of thing. They were relaxing between prayers, a couple reading The Holy Qur'an, the others chatting.

Then two youngish boys arrived - family, again, based on their looks. I'd have guessed the kids to have been around nine and ten years old. The boys proceeded to greet the grown-ups, obviously very respectfully, assiduously one by one. Initially I thought the older guys were lowering their faces to let the youngsters kiss them, but then I realised that what was actually happening was that each little lad moved in carefully on each grown-up to the point that their noses gently touched, and that was the physical manifestation of the greeting. It was really quite extraordinary. The care and focus required for the little ones to get the movement precisely correct was in itself a gentle and powerful demonstration of courtesy.

Remarkable: turning a casual, everyday matter of kids saying hello to family members into something quite beautiful. Something truly civilised.